


i used my paper telescope to show you the stars and then win your heart

by raptorlindsay



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, and by gosh by golly i'm gonna give it to them, be gentle y'all i'm new at this, just one big cliche, just unrepentant fluff, no one deserves a happy ending more than Fitzsimmons, super cheesy and overdramatic, writing is scary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-09 17:59:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13486788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raptorlindsay/pseuds/raptorlindsay
Summary: A collection (maybe?) of one-shots/drabbles featuring my Fitzsimmons feels...title is from "Make This Leap" by The Hunts





	1. but we'll try, best as we can, to carry on

**Author's Note:**

> So I guess I write fanfiction now?  
> I blame the following people: dilkirani grapehyasynth eclecticmuses SuburbanSun lapiccolina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Styx for the title of this chapter.
> 
> IDK how this even happened.

(Inspired by [this](http://ohifonlyx33.tumblr.com/post/170135143023/i-have-zero-chill-i-know-this-trope-is-overused) post.)

_carry (v): to support or move (someone or something) from one place to another_

“It’s a silly tradition,” she protests.

He is undeterred and wraps an arm around the small of her back. “But it’s a tradition nonetheless.”

Exasperated, she wiggles out of his hold - not entirely, never entirely, but enough to effectively keep her feet on the ground. “Honestly, I am perfectly capable of walking by myself, even if this dress is rather voluminous.” She gestures at the full skirt of her wedding gown and smiles in spite of herself. “It’s wildly impractical but… it IS beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Had he been anyone else, she would have rolled her eyes at the obvious line, but he speaks with such sincerity that she can't help the way her heart flutters. She meets his eyes and finds her own filling with tears (happy ones, they’ve all been happy tears today). She marvels at how even now - even after all the timelines and all the distance and all the _weird crap that they were not prepared to deal with_ \- even now, the way he looks at her with such complete and unconditional love and such unabashed affection **still** takes her breath away.

“I love you so much,” he begins, reaching out to hold her hands, his gaze steady and sure. “And I am so privileged to love you, and to _be_ loved by you, and I can’t believe you’re my wife now.” He exhales a small laugh and her smile couldn’t be wider. “Your love has always carried me - up from the bottom of the Atlantic and through an alternate reality and across all of time and space. So please, just... let me carry you across the threshold.”

He’s barely finished the sentence when she surges forward and kisses him, long and deep and infused with several lifetimes worth of love. Because this darling, awkward, brilliant, strong, compassionate man is her husband - _finally,_ **her husband** \- and she would do anything for him.

It takes them a few tries - her feet bump against the door frame and he gets distracted from the task at hand when he peppers her skin with kisses - and on the whole, it’s fairly graceless. But he finally picks her up and she wraps her arms around his neck, and despite her previous protestations she thinks, _this is home_.

They walk into the room, into this new chapter of their life, the same way they always have - together.

 

 


	2. I hear you call my name / and it feels like home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yo this is just, like....fluff. A lot of fluff.
> 
> (Non-SHIELD AU - Just assume they went through the Academy and Sci-Ops and now work in a lab somewhere. Maybe even still with SHIELD but without the constant threat of death and separation.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Madonna for the title of this chapter!  
> I changed the rating for mentions of sex things - nothing graphic but figured I should give a heads up. Let me know if it needs a higher rating.

Fitz sat on the couch in the living room, nursing a beer while half-heartedly looking over some recent sketches he’d drawn of a new prototype and trying, for the millionth time and rather unsuccessfully, to convince himself that he wasn’t in love with his roommate.  
  
“You have GOT to be kidding me.”  
  
He jumped at the sudden exclamation that echoed down the hall from Jemma’s room. Jemma, his roommate and lab partner and best friend, who he definitely wasn’t in love with.  
  
“Oh for God’s sake!”  
  
(He definitely was.)  
  
“This is absolute bollocks. FITZ!”  
  
He barely had time to register the sound of her storming down the hallway before she was standing in front of him, holding a paperback book in one hand and gesticulating wildly with the other. She was wearing sweatpants and an old Academy t-shirt and her hair was in a pony tail and she was perfect.  
  
“Fitz, have you ever read a romance novel?”  
  
Of all the things he’d been prepared for her to ask, this was….not one of them.  
  
“I….can’t say I have. Everything okay?”  
  
“It’s this stupid book,” she said, tossing it onto the couch and planting her hands on her hips. “It’s infuriating, not to mention anatomically inaccurate. You should hear the absolutely asinine things this author has written under the guise of ’seduction’.”  
  
Fitz picked up the book and immediately raised his eyebrows at the cover photo of a extremely well-muscled man in a kilt, of all things. He read the title aloud. "’Temptation in Tartan’. This is….an interesting choice…?"  
  
Jemma rolled her eyes and snatched the book back. “Daisy gave it to me and insisted I read it. She said I read too much, and these were her exact words, ‘boring genius science bullshit’, and that i should give my brain a break by reading something ‘light-hearted and fun and super sexy’, also her words.”  
  
Fitz’s breath caught on the word ‘sexy’, because she was - GOD, she was - but he was actively trying NOT to objectify his best friend, and had been doing a good job. He thought.  
  
“So she gave you this.” He motioned at the paperback in her hand. “Which has sent you into a rage spiral….why?”  
  
“Because I’ve wasted half an hour reading absolute garbage! It is almost certainly the _least_ sexy thing I’ve ever read. Listen.” She flipped open to a page she had dog eared and read aloud: “He licked his lips as his eyes locked on her heaving bosom…”  
  
Fitz had taken a swig of beer as she started reading and immediately regretted his decision, only narrowly managed to avoid choking. “Excuse me?” he wheezed.  
  
“Right?! It’s so antiquated, as if anyone says ‘bosom’ anymore.” Jemma flipped forward a couple of pages. “And then this: ‘the flame in his belly had ignited to a full blown inferno, traveling through his abdomen to where he was rapidly hardening-“  
  
“OKAY, that’s - that’s enough, thanks!” He cut her off abruptly because _dear God_ , they were in dangerous territory. “I, erm, yeah, I can see why you’re upset? Because of the, ah, unrealistic descriptions of his - “  
  
“Arousal? Yes! And then a few lines later when she takes him in her hand” ( _Am I dying?_ Fitz wondered) “it describes him as ‘steel wrapped in silk’ ( _Yes. This is how I die_ ).  I can’t believe I had to read that phrase with my own two eyes! And that’s not even the worst part about this crime against literature.” She flipped a few more pages, thankfully not noticing that Fitz’s face had turned a spectacular shade of red previously unseen on the color spectrum.  
  
“Here it is. This was the last straw: ‘His name fell from her lips like a prayer.’” Jemma scoffed derisively.  “That is hands down the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a book FULL of ridiculous things, and that’s saying something!!” She dropped the book to the floor and began pacing back and forth as she ranted.  "Like a prayer?! I may not be religious but if saying someone’s name during sexual intercourse - oh for heaven’s sake, Fitz, stop choking, we’re adults - anyway, if THAT'S your idea of praying, you need to reevaluate your church-going habits.”  
  
Fitz coughed a few more times and did his best to regain his composure, then looked at her with equal parts amusement and exasperation. “I don’t think that’s what that means.”  
  
“Then what DOES it mean?” Jemma stopped in front of where he sat on the couch and crossed her arms, defiance etched across her face.  
  
Fitz sighed and took a swig of his beer to stall for time. This was….a lot, and he felt the need to tread carefully. She was the smartest person he knew, and she knew him better than anyone else - how on earth was he supposed to explain this dumb metaphor without her figuring out how he felt?  
  
_She hasn’t figured it out yet_ , a traitorous voice whispered in his head. _She’s had plenty of opportunities_. He shook his head to clear it - now wasn’t the time for this thought spiral. _Explanation now, self loathing later._  
  
“It’s like…it’s saying someone’s name with a certain reverence.” Fitz didn’t meet her eyes. “Like it’s something precious and holy and meant to be cherished.” _Like the way I say your name._ "Like when you know a person, and you l-love them and you have…faith in them, then their name…. feels different. Different on your tongue, and in your heart....” _Shit. Just stop talking._ _SHIT._ “I mean, so I’ve heard.”  
  
He risked a glance up at her and found Jemma looking at him curiously, head tilted slightly to the side as she worked through this new information. Her anger seemed to have abated but her brow was still slightly furrowed, which he found unfairly attractive. She was his best friend and his roommate and his lab partner, and he was dangerously close to telling her that she was so much more than that. He grabbed his beer and chugged what was left, hoping to wash the words he so desperately wanted to say right down his throat. This, of course, triggered yet another coughing fit that pulled Jemma from her thoughts.  
  
“Fitz, are you okay?” She hurriedly dropped down beside him and began rubbing soothing circles against his back. “What have I told you about drinking too quickly?” she chastised, but her words lacked any bite. Her hand against his back, though meant to be soothing, practically burned, and he definitely _definitely_ **definitely** could not sit there for a second longer or he was going to seriously jeopardize their friendship.  
  
“Water!” he croaked lamely, scrambling to his feet. “I just….I just need some water. I’m going to go and….do that. Right now. The water.” He staggered towards the kitchen, leaving a concerned  Jemma on the couch.  
  
_Get it together, you bloody idiot_. Fitz grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and carefully gulped down half of it before setting it on the counter and scrubbing his hands over his face.  
  
Jemma Simmons was the best friend he’d ever had. She was brilliant and funny and compassionate and kind, and she understood him in ways he had never known another person could. He felt so lucky to know her, and her friendship meant everything to him. And that was enough.  
  
It had to be enough.

Because the alternative involved him making a complete fool of himself while ruining his relationship with the best person he knew. Plus, there was no way he could afford to pay the rent on his own - the last thing he needed was her to move out because his dumb _feelings_ made her uncomfortable.  
  
_No. No, this is fine. This is the right thing. Nothing needs to change._  
He rubbed at his temples and closed his eyes, trying his damnedest to think only platonic thoughts about the incredible woman in the next room.  
  
Until suddenly, he opened his eyes and she was standing in front of him, studying him with an intense curiosity she usually reserved for a specimen in the lab. It made him feel exposed and oddly warm.  
  
“Jemma, I - “ he began.

And suddenly her hands were on his cheeks and her mouth was on his and oh God, this? _THIS_ was how he was going to die.  
  
After a moment, his brain caught up to his body and he managed to kiss her back, her lips impossibly soft against his and his heart beating faster than could be deemed medically advisable.  
  
He could have stayed there, kissing Jemma Simmons - _I am_ _**kissing Jemma Simmons**_ \- in his kitchen, for the rest of his life and then some, but he forced himself to pull back.  
  
“I, uh. Not that I’m complaining but…” Fitz searched for the right words, because how do you say 'I’ve loved you for years and this is the best day of my life and I don’t want to cock this up so please tell me how to not cock it up’ without sounding like an absolute numpty? He settled on, “But, um…what? Erm.. why…you…you did..that.” _Smooth_.  
  
Jemma smiled and looked at him with such open affection that it nearly made his knees give out. She stroked a thumb over his cheekbone and gave a half-shrug. “It’s like the way you say my name.”  
  
In that moment, Fitz felt as though his heart grew three sizes and leapt to his throat to take up permanent residence. _This has to be a dream, right?_

He must have looked dazed, because she laughed softly before continuing. “You say my name like it’s something precious and holy. You make me FEEL like I’m something to be cherished. I’ve never been able to describe it until today, but I…you are my best friend in the world, and that will never change, but your name…your name feels different on my tongue, too. In my heart.”  
  
He was stunned. Gobsmacked, really. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? What he hoped beyond all hope she was saying? Or was she just…humoring him?  _She’s humoring you_ , the voice in his head taunted. He sighed. “Jemma, you don’t have to say-“  
  
“ _ **Fitz**_.”  
  
Oh.  
  
_Oh_.  
  
So _that’s_ what it sounded like.  
  
“I’m not ‘just’ saying anything.” Jemma grabbed both of his hands between her own and pinned him with an earnest look. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out. But you are the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think of before I fall asleep, and you are the kindest, smartest, most compassionate man I’ve ever met. You make me feel safe and whole in a way that I’ve never felt before but now I can’t imagine NOT feeling it.” She squeezed his hands tightly, almost painfully, and ducked her head with a shy smile. “If I’m going to say anyone’s name reverently, it’s…it’s yours.”  
  
He should say something.  
He should **definitely** say something.  
_Say something, you spectacular numbskull._  
  
“Jemma…” Her smile broke into a full blown grin, one that he was sure was mirrored on his own face. “I…feel the same way. I, um, oh man, I was supposed to have a whole speech for this. Okay.. I, erm, I was afraid to say anything because your friendship means the whole world to me, Jemma, but I-“ Fitz exhaled and forced himself to look her in the eye. “I am just so entirely head over heels for you. Absolutely bonkers, really. Not sure how I managed to keep it a secret.”  
  
“I don’t know how I missed it,” Jemma laughed. “God, think about how much time we’ve wasted, we could have been kissing for months. Years, even.”  
  
Fitz raised their clasped hands to his mouth, gently kissing her knuckles before tucking them under his chin. “It’s okay. We have time. And we DO already live together and I haven’t even taken you to dinner yet, so we’re technically ahead of the game.”  
  
She laughed again and shook her head a little, almost in disbelief, and he lifted a hand to cradle her jaw. As she leaned her cheek into his palm, Fitz looked at her - this incredible, gorgeous, unstoppable woman - and could swear he saw his future staring back at him.  
  
And then they were kissing again, and all thoughts of the future flew from his mind, because the present was pretty damn amazing.  
  
****

  
The next morning, Fitz awoke to a text from Daisy:  
  
**Daisy** : _So, you and Jemma, yeah? It’s about time you crazy kids got it together._  
  
**Fitz** : _I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about._  
  
**Daisy** : _Yeah, yeah, lover boy. She texted me a bunch of heart emojis before I went to bed last night, which is obviously code for “We finally got our heads out of our asses and made out.”_  
  
**Fitz** : _I mean, not to put too fine a point on it, as I don’t see how any of this is exactly your business..._  
  
**Daisy** : _Um it’s entirely my business, and I WILL be taking partial credit for moving things along with my gift._  
  
**Fitz** : _???_  
  
**Daisy** : _The book! I thought maybe she just needed a nudge in the right direction, you know, get in the right headspace. You’re welcome._

 **Daisy** : _Also, do you own a kilt?_  
  
_The stupid book_. He chuckled quietly, looking over to where Jemma lay next to him, snuggled right up to his side with her arm thrown across his stomach. Her breathing was even and her hair was a tangled mess and she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.  
  
Fitz himself wasn’t particularly religious - and he certainly wasn’t a romance novelist - but in that moment, he could have filled a whole new testament with psalms of how much he loved her.  
  
**Fitz** : _Thanks, Daisy._  
  
**Fitz** : _It was a real answer to prayer._

 


	3. you're already home where you feel love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking about how much I want to see Fitzsimmons announcing their engagement to the team and this happened. 
> 
> Canon compatible up till 5x09 -at the time I'm posting this, I haven't seen 5x10, so if there's some sort of announcement I don't know about it and will continue assuming that this is how it goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Amy/SuburbanSun for the last minute beta and cheerleading.
> 
> Chapter title courtesy of The Head and The Heart.

In another timeline, they would have thrown a party. Jemma, though she would deny it if questioned, had been carefully curating a secret ‘engagement party’ Pinterest board since Bucharest - she told herself it was too soon for a ‘wedding’ board, but surely there was nothing wrong with a little pre-engagement engagement party preparation, right?  
  
(She also had a wedding board, because who was she kidding.)   
  
In another timeline, they would gather the team somewhere - around the holotable, maybe - and video call Fitz’s mum and Jemma’s parents, and they would hold hands and grin uncontrollably and announce in unison that they were engaged. And their families would cry and the team would cheer and pints and gin would be procured, and they would all toast to Fitzsimmons being…well, Fitzsimmons.   
  
(They’d been Fitzsimmons from the very start, of course, but how exciting for it to finally be official.)   
  
In another timeline, their engagement would have been an epic, extravagant production that involved the whole team from the get-go. Fitz had always been one for grand gestures, and he’d have recruited Daisy and Mack and Elena and Coulson and May to help give Jemma the romantic proposal she deserved.   
  
(“A flash mob, Fitz!”  
“Christ, Daisy, no.”)

  
But they weren’t in another timeline.   
  
In their timeline, they were in space, in the future, in a decrepit version of the Zephyr on a potential suicide mission back to the Lighthouse. Things were on a need-to-know basis, and right now the team didn’t need to know.   
  
Until suddenly, Jemma decided they did.   
  
“We’re getting married.”   
  
Daisy’s gaze flew to Jemma and she couldn’t help but laugh at the outburst. “You guys have been practically married since you were 16, we know, but thanks for the reminder.”   
  
Jemma shook her head and looked imploringly at Fitz, who had grasped her hand in one of his and was looking at her like she was the only thing in the universe that mattered.   
  
“No, I mean.” Jemma exhaled impatiently. “We’re really, properly engaged. To be married. For real.”   
  
The plane fell silent as four heads swiveled to lock eyes on the pair. May kept her gaze straight ahead, of course, but Jemma caught a glimpse of her reflection in the windshield.

“Congratulations.” May nodded, a small, soft smile on her face, and then the dam broke.  
  
“Oh my GOD!” Daisy shrieked, unbuckling her seat belt and practically throwing herself across the plane. “You idiots! When did this happen? Did this _just_ happen?! Oh my God, I saw you making out but I didn’t know you were getting ENGAGED, holy shit!” She knelt in front of where they were seated and tackled first Jemma, then Fitz, in a hug. “I was literally _right_ _there_ and I had no idea! My God, could you WARN A BITCH next time?! You have to tell me everything.” Daisy rocked back on her heels and looked between them expectantly.  "Who asked who?”  
  
“I did,” they answered in unison.   
  
“Honestly, Fitz, I’m sure what you said was lovely but -“  
  
“Well how was I supposed to bloody well know you couldn’t hear -“  
  
“Fitzsimmons!” Coulson’s stern voice cut through their bickering. Fitz and Jemma sheepishly shut their mouths, and his tone softened as he addressed them, his eyes shining with something like pride.  
  
“Congratulations, you two. It has been a privilege and an honor to see you grow into the agents you are today. I think we can all agree that you deserve every happiness this life can offer.” Daisy hummed excitedly in agreement as May gave a thumbs up from the cockpit.  
  
(“I thought…they were already married?” Deke muttered to Enoch.  

Enoch smiled placidly. “I do not pretend to understand the antiquated customs of human marriage, although I do find them rather intriguing.”)  
  
“But I have to say,” Coulson continued. “Your timing is…interesting.”   
  
Jemma nodded. “Oh, I know, sir, and I promise our focus is entirely on getting all of us back to the right time and place, but I just…I wanted you to know before we got back to the Lighthouse because…”   
  
“Because you’re family.” Fitz’s voice was quiet but sure. She beamed at him, because of course he knew what she was trying to say, and of course he made it sound like the simplest, most indisputable fact. And maybe it was. “You’re our family.”   
  
Daisy sniffed back tears even as her smile widened. She grabbed one of each of their hands and squeezed. “I am so happy for you. Honestly. No one deserves this more than you guys.”   
  
May’s voice came from the cockpit. “This is all very sweet, but I know of at least two family  members who won’t take kindly to missing out on this little revelation.”   
  
“I’m on it.” Daisy sprang up and grabbed the telecom device. “Mack. Elena. Do you read?”   
  
_“Loud and clear, Tremors. Everything okay?”_   
  
“Yes.” She grinned. “I mean, as much as anything could be okay right now. Fitz has something he needs to tell you.” She thrust the telecom into Fitz’s hands and gestured wildly for him to get on with it.

Jemma inclined her head toward him. “Well, go on! I got to tell everyone else.”  
  
Fitz grinned. “Yeah, Mack, listen, when we get back, I’ve got this project I need your help on, but you’re going to need to get ordained first.”   
  
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Elena’s overjoyed laughter filled the air, overlapping with a loud whoop from Mack.   
  
_“It’s about damn time, Turbo!”_   
  
“ _¡Felicitaciones!_ ” Elena’s voice practically vibrated with excitement. _“Hurry up and get your asses back here so we can go home and get you married!”_   
  
(So they did.)   
  
In another timeline, things might have been different.  
Easier, maybe, or at least more linear.  
But in this timeline, Jemma had Fitz, and Fitz had Jemma, and they both had the team, and the team was a family.

  
(And that was enough.)


End file.
